Summary
- Air Vanuatu’s Boeing 737-800 is back in service after facing multiple delays and mechanical issues, relieving stranded passengers.
- The carrier had to source replacement parts to connect Port Vila to Australia and New Zealand and incurred significant costs from the incident.
- Air Vanuatu has relied on neighboring airlines such as Solomon Airlines, Nauru Airlines, and Fiji Airways for support during previous mechanical troubles.
Air Vanuatu’s sole Boeing 737-800 is back in ser; this comes after multiple delays and mechanical issues that the carrier has faced in the last 12 months.
The Pacific Island carrier advised its passengers earlier in the week it was ‘working as quickly as possible’ to source the replacement parts that grounded the carrier’s only capable aircraft connecting Port Vila to Australia and New Zealand.
Photo: Jeffry Surianto | Shutterstock
From its base at Port Vila Bauerfield International Airport (VLI), the jet aircraft is deployed on its services to Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.
Stranded passengers in Vanuatu
With September / October peak time for school holidays in Australia and New Zealand, recent groundings of the Air Vanuatu aircraft have meant many travelers were stranded at home or stuck on the islands. The airline quickly offered travelers refunds or alternative accommodation while the carrier organized return journeys home. Reported costs to the airline from this incident are expected to reach VT 168 million (1.38).
Photo: Air Vanuatu
Air Vanuatu has become accustomed to calling on its neighbors for support given its plague of mechanical troubles, with the airline calling in Solomon Airlines earlier in the year to maintain the connection between Honiara – Port Vila and Auckland, where the carrier facilitated the through service. In the wake of this recent grounding, Nauru Airlines was also recruited to handle services between Port Vila and its Australian and New Zealand gateways, as reported by Stuff.co.nz, Fiji Airways also lent a hand in getting passengers where they needed to be.
YJ-AV8
According to data from Airfleets, the Vanuatuian carrier leases the 7.7-year-old Boeing 737-800 NG from Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corporation, which has over 270 737s on its books. Having been delivered to Port Vila in January 2016, it has played an integral part in the carrier’s success in connecting the 83-island archipelago of Vanuatu to the world. Two x CFMI CFM56-7B26E power the aircraft.
In addition to the jetliner, Air Vanuatu also operates one ATR 72, facilitating its domestic and international services between Port Vila and Noumea (NOU), New Caledonia.
International services to Port Vila
The Pacific Islands are famous for Kiwis and Australians when booking a holiday abroad. However, when Air New Zealand permanently suspended its operations in Port Vila, stating that it was concerned about the state of the island’s runway, it left Air Vanuatu as the sole carrier operating the service.
Fiji Airways provides direct services to Nadi, with the airline offering a convenient connection into its more comprehensive South Pacific network and further reaches into the United States and Canada. Australian flag carrier Qantas also remains absent in Vanuatu. However, Virgin Australia provides direct services to Queensland’s capital, Brisbane. French carrier Aircalin competes head-to-head with Air Vanuatu on direct services to Noumea.
Sources: Stuff.co.nz, Airfleets